Mobile, remotely controlled robots are becoming increasingly popular for use by the military, SWAT units, and police and fire departments. The applicants' TALON® robot, for example, includes an arm with an end effecter, several cameras, several antennas, and a deployable mast. Frequently the end effector is a gripper, e.g. a pair of jaws that can be opened and closed on command to grasp objects such as debris, hazardous material, unexploded ordinance and the like. The larger robots even have the capability to grip an injured, downed, person by some personal paraphernalia such as a shirt collar and drag them out of harm's way to safety. One problem with large, strong grippers is that larger gears are needed to drive the gripper fingers with sufficient torque to realize a strong grip force. But larger gears translate to larger end effector units and significant increase in their weight. Another issue with present grippers is that the gripper fingers can sag or twist on their pivot axis causing premature failure and less than optimum gripping function. Yet another issue with end effector grippers is the need to keep the motor/reduction gear package small and compact to keep down the size of the end effector unit, while still providing a strong grip force and rapid gripper closing/opening.